MOUSE MASKS WITH LUSH CALL TO END LD50

LUSH, ANIMAL AID AND WINTERCROFT 

Lush’s Ethics Director, Hilary Jones, is a long-time collaborator, instigator of positive change and activist advisor for some now iconic mask designs. From the very beginning, our masks have been intended for use as powerful vehicles to help initiate pro-active, positive change. Steve’s new Mouse Mask continues this legacy in close collaboration with LUSH UK, raising awareness for the petition against a 100-year-old archaic and cruel testing process known as LD50. 

Since 2014, we’ve been helping to add visual impact to global animal rights campaigns, in many cases with masks made specifically for the actions needed. For this 2023 initiative, Hilary asked if Steve would create a Mouse Mask to support their campaign calling for an end to LD50 testing and we are excited to see these mice in the field (in this case the streets of London). This was a visually striking way to raise awareness about LD50 and we are proud to be a part of it.

ADIOS TO LETHAL DOSE

Did you know that the lives of approximately 80,000 animals in the EU alone are lost to LD50 testing every year? LD50 (lethal dose 50) is a test used to determine the lethal dose of a substance required to kill 50 percent of the test animals. This procedure, developed in 1927, remains common practice despite there being more reliable ways to test the toxicity of substances without using animals. 

A modern and cruelty-free procedure has been developed by British Laboratory XCellR8 with funding from Animal Aid. This new client-company-ready testing procedure is called AcutoX. The way it works is instead of using living creatures to test toxicity, this marvellous new method exposes ethically-sourced, human skin cells to increasing increments of a test chemical. This more accurate and humane procedure determines how damaged the cells become. 

 

MORE THAN JUST A CUTE FACE

Before the campaign came about we had been asked for some time for a mouse mask and there were many points to consider before Steve could begin. This was a challenging design as a real mouse's face is not anything like the typical cartoony depictions that we all grew up seeing. Luckily, Steve loves a good design challenge almost as much as he loves cheese, so we are proud to present the final result. We thank Hilary, LUSH and Animal Aid for the impetus and inclusion of the mighty Mouse Mask in this important initiative. Build your own, post your photos on socials and tag #endld50 with a link to this petition to end the cruelty for good. We are with you all in this fight for better science! 

SIGN THE PETITION

BUILD YOUR MOUSE MASK

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